Shop workers at Edinburgh branches of Farmfoods have hit out at their employers after they were forced to buy their own anti bacterial hand gel.
Staff from the Kirkgate, Leith and Nicolson Street branches, who asked not to be named, said they were shocked when bosses refused to supply sanitiser gel to use behind the counter and told them they would need to supply their own gloves.
The workers claimed they were left to buy their own gel, gloves and face shields after being left for weeks with no protective equipment to do their jobs.
Supermarkets and smaller independent stores are the only businesses to stay open in most areas, providing a lifeline to Scots told to stay home during enforced lockdown.
Government guidance to shops is to provide facilities to wash hands frequently and also to provide sanitiser and tissues to workers. This is clearly stated on the Government website.
But bosses at Farmfoods, which have over 20 shops in Scotland and more than 300 nationwide, told Edinburgh Live today that gel “wasn’t necessary” and if workers want gel to use behind the tills they would need to pay out of their own pockets.
One worker from the Southside branch said: “There was a delivery of some soap for a wall dispenser but that ran out quickly. When we asked to get gel for behind the counter and some gloves the manager just said we would need to get it for ourselves.
“I think they should be providing it for us. It’s all very well saying they give us a sink and soap for hand washing but when you are serving queues of people you can’t nip off to the toilet every five minutes. We need something behind the till especially when we don’t have gloves. They won’t give us those either.”
Another worker at the Leith Kirkgate shop said she bought her own face visor on ebay because she felt unsafe with no protective equipment.
She said: “I got fed up waiting for them to send us something. I just felt so unsafe. People would cough or sneeze and not cover their mouth and it was really scary. I bought this shield on ebay for £5.99 and my own gloves too because they say they won’t give us any. I’d rather fork out the money myself. They said they are sending us masks, but it’s been weeks now. It’s too little, too late in my book.
“We are coming into contact with people all day. Surely we shouldn’t be expected to go into work without gloves and hand gel. And that’s not always easy to get it. The gels are selling out, with some shops putting a limit now on how many you can buy.”
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) backed workers concerns about Farmfoods lack of protective equipment for workers.
USDAW has provided guidance on measures supermarkets and shops should be taking to protect shop workers. They have also negotiated agreements with larger supermarkets.
Stewart Forrest, Scottish Divisional Officer said:“Essential shops should be doing everything they can to protect workers. Most are providing hand sanitiser, disposable gloves and screens as well as putting 2m social distancing in place. That should be the bare minimum.
“For Farmfoods not to even provide anti bacterial gel or gloves is a very bad show for a national company. It reflects very poorly on them and the value they place on their staff health and wellbeing.”
“We have agreements in place with the major supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s to make sure they are doing all they can to protect workers putting themselves at risk to keep shops open. It’s a vital job they are doing. We have tried before to work with Farmfoods but they don’t recognise the Union. For any workers there concerned about their health they can get in touch with us.”
A source at Farmfoods head office said the company is following Government guidance by providing facilities for frequent hand washing. However, they claimed that guidance doesn’t require them to provide additional sanitiser.
“Frequent hand washing is the gold standard. If our staff want to obtain additional gel, that is up to them. Official guidance also says that gloves are not essential. We encourage staff to wash their hands often and keep a log of it.”
“We are going above and beyond and took the decision last week to provide all workers with face visors. These have been ordered and will be in two thirds of stores this week. Most shops are providing screens for the counter but the shields will provide more protection.”
